Bette Noir, but with red and yellow

When I'm choosing a color scheme for my own minis, I generally shy away from the official color schemes from artwork or studio paintjobs.

 I'm not totally sure why I do this. You can paint a mini great in studio colors (and I often do that as well). But I really like to re-imagine the character in a very different light- and you can often fundamentally change a character simply by choosing different colors.

 Well, here's Bette Noir- there's a clear color scheme suggested in that name. But my client chose a color scheme that was very far from the official one:

 

Romantic Halo Cake Topper

Now, this isn't the first cake topper I've made for fans of the Halo franchise. In the past, I've had several brides and grooms ask me to make them into spartans.

 But, this is the first cake topper that I've made to feature the franchise' favorite protagonist- John 117, the Master Chief. Well, here's a romantic cake topper that features him with his true love:

 

 

Knight Cerastus x2

Just a little while ago, I got to paint up a few Knight Cerasti with a relatively simple color scheme (give the amount of freehand I often do on knights like these). 

Here are some pictures: 

Cthulhu and Mermaid Wedding Cake Topper

I get lots of different kinds of projects for Wedding Cake Toppers- themes range from Zombies, videogames, swordfighting, fantasy roleplaying, comic fandom and beyond.

 This couple had a very specific idea of the couple they wanted- that's not so unusual actually. Since I'm making all of the toppers myself, I can create a lot of things that no one has ever thought of before.

 They wanted a Cthulhu groom carrying his Mermaid Bride- all done with a much creepier style than what I normally make for cake toppers. In fact, I actually considered a number of ways to make the scales and transitions on the mermaid herself, but they wanted something very specific.

 And I really love how it came out. I get to work with the best people.

 

Rabid Squirrels for Super Dungeon Explore

Well, I don't have quite everything painted from my Forgotten King set. I know, there are Ninjas about to descend upon us, and I'm about to be buried underneath some of that Kickstarter craziness.

I've discovered that the money for Kickstarters isn't an issue in the least as long as I only get in on Kickstarters in as much as I can finish painting the minis.

And that puts me in a place where I really can't get in on very many of them.

 Anyway, I'm excited (and a little intimidated) so see the next set of SDE and Ninja All Stars show up, so it is good to have a few more creeps done:

 

Doctor Who TARDIS Wedding Cake Toppers

I have had a lot of requests for some interesting cake toppers. Here are two sets that I created- both of the couples independently decided that they'd like to see Doctor Who's TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension In Space) on their wedding cakes.

 First- here's what the TARDIS looked like all by itself:

 

 The first couple wanted to be running into the TARDIS (with the door a little open). I think it is the vehicles that's taking them on their honeymoon. I like how they wanted her to seem just a little more eager to get in there than he is:

 

The last ones wanted their clothing to show off some of their other fandoms. For some reason, I feel like crossovers with Doctor Who just work really well- I always imagine that he can arrive in any place/time/dimension that the TARDIS takes him to:

 

Harlequins are a really interesting bunch to paint. Mostly, you get to paint a whole bunch of freehand that you really don't get to do on most minis.

 They can be tricky- especially if you want the minis to still look like a cohesive force, and still have that sense of individuality that the Harlequin minis want so much.

 I painted up these Skyweavers to go with a force that I had painted up quite a few infantry for. For this force, the harlequins were each painted in black and white with one bold color each.

 Altogether, I felt like they came out rather well.

 
 

M4 Carbine Wedding Cake Toppers

Max Brooks, in his Zombie Survival Guide explains how he favors the AK-47 and assault rifles like it over the M series weapons. I've heard this sentiment before, and figured that these people probably had some point.

Then- I got to shoot an M4- and I must admit that I was impressed. The weapon is light- which works well for survivors on the move, and more over, it was the easiest to handle firearm that I have ever held. It fires accurately with very little kick.

 It was almost like shooting a very good .22 rimfire weapon- low kick, good accuracy. But then the holes in the target were significantly larger.

 Now, I didn't have to clean or disassemble the thing, but in a situation where the only shots that count are head shots, I'd definitely go with an M4 over something with more kick and less accuracy. Anyway, I am now completely on board with the most popular assault rifle used by wedding cake toppers.

 Here are two couples who decided that the M4 was the best way to dispatch the zombie horde.



 

And here are a few of the zombies that I've made to invade wedding cakes.